JACKSONVILLE, FLA. ? The Kansas City Chiefs sure know how to start fast. They’re the only team in the league that has scored on its first possession of each game this season.

Maybe they can give the Jacksonville Jaguars a few pointers.

The Jags (3-2) haven’t scored any first-quarter points in five games. They’ve had seven punts, two fumbles, an interception and a turnover on downs in 11 first-quarter possessions. They’re looking for better results today against the Chiefs (1-3).

“We’ve got to score early,” quarterback Byron Leftwich said. “We’re putting our defense in bad spots, and it leaves us always fighting from behind. It’s something we have to — and will — get better at.”

The Jaguars scored just 34 points in the first quarter last season and have trailed early in 14 of the last 21 games.

So slow starts are nothing new for coach Jack Del Rio.

“That’s the challenge for us, to get on track early,” Del Rio said. “We want to start fast. We’re having to fight from behind, or even, at best, after the first quarter. We’ve not been productive in the first quarter, the first series in particular, and that’s an area we’ll continue to address.”

Although games usually aren’t won in the opening quarter — as the Chiefs can attest — the Jaguars know they don’t have the offense to make up a lot of points. San Diego jumped to a 21-0 lead against Jacksonville last week and never looked back.

Leftwich completed 36 of 54 passes for 357 yards, all career highs, and threw a touchdown and two interceptions. But his performance was far from what the Jags were built to do, which was play conservatively with a second-year quarterback and win with defense.

That philosophy helped them win the first three games by a combined seven points. But then they lost two straight to high-powered offenses from Indianapolis and San Diego. The Colts and Chargers shredded the Jaguars’ vaunted defense for a combined 586 yards and 58 points.

The slow starts certainly didn’t help in either of those games.

“They’ve got the players. It’s just that for whatever reason, they’re getting off to slow starts,” Chiefs safety Jerome Woods said. “We want to try to keep them that way. We don’t want them to break out early on us.”

The Jaguars could get a boost with the return of Kyle Brady, one of the top blocking tight ends in the league. Brady missed the first five games after having surgery on his right index finger. The finger became infected and sidelined him much longer than initially expected.

He will wear a cumbersome cast on his right hand to protect the finger and probably won’t be much help as a receiver. But the Jags hope his return will augment a running game that is averaging 3.8 yards a carry.

“When I was in there, everyone wanted me out,” Brady said. “And now when I’m out, everyone says I’m the guy that needs to be back in. If I come back and nothing changes in the next three games, then everyone will be like, “Well, it must not have been Brady.”

Like Brady, the Chiefs are rested. They are coming off a bye week after a big victory at Baltimore.

Kansas City scored twice in the first quarter against the Ravens, a fourth straight quick start for the team that led the league in scoring the last two seasons.

Coach Dick Vermeil said the opening scores — three touchdowns and a field goal — are credited to good preparation.

“I think that’s a matter of being specific and everybody knowing what they’re doing and getting it done. Plus we’re talented enough to do that,” he said.

But the Chiefs also want the strong starts to set the tempo for the entire game, something that didn’t happen when they opened with three consecutive losses.

“If we get an opportunity to score right off the bat, in the first series, it can give us some momentum,” quarterback Trent Green said. “But I think it’s more important for us to not only get started hot, but it’s something we have to sustain and be able to come through in the fourth quarter.”